BACKGROUND
Trials of statin therapy have had conflicting findings on the risk of development of diabetes mellitus in patients given statins. We aimed to establish by a meta-analysis of published and unpublished data whether any relation exists between statin use and development of diabetes.
METHODS
We searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central… (More)

BACKGROUND
In most previous epidemiological studies on the prevalence of chronic heart failure (CHF) the disorder has been defined on clinical criteria. In a cross-sectional survey of 2000 men and women aged 25-74, randomly sampled from one geographical area, we assessed left-ventricular systolic function by echocardiography.
METHODS
1640 (83%) of those… (More)

BACKGROUND
Heart failure places a significant burden on patients and health systems in high-income countries. However, information about its burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is scant. We thus set out to review both published and unpublished information on the presentation, causes, management, and outcomes of heart failure in LMICs.
… (More)

Blockade of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is a core therapeutic strategy in systolic heart failure. 1 The value of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors was proven in two pivotal trials conducted. 20 years ago. More recently, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have also been shown to be beneficial in systolic heart failure both as an… (More)

BACKGROUND
It is not known whether drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance.
METHODS
In this double-blind, randomized clinical trial with a 2-by-2 factorial design, we assigned 9306 patients with impaired glucose tolerance and established cardiovascular… (More)

BACKGROUND
The age at which heart failure develops varies widely between countries and drug tolerance and outcomes also vary by age. We have examined the efficacy and safety of LCZ696 according to age in the Prospective comparison of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor to Determine Impact on Global… (More)

The clinical syndrome of heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and mortality in older adults. An association between cognitive impairment and heart failure is well described but our understanding of the relationship between the two conditions remains limited. In this review we provide a synthesis of available evidence, focussing on… (More)

BACKGROUND
In previous studies on the use of natriuretic peptides to detect left-ventricular systolic dysfunction, a higher rate of cardiac disorders in the control groups than in the study groups could have led to bias. We investigated the effectiveness of plasma N-terminal atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)… (More)

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is now recognized as a major and escalating public health problem. The costs of this syndrome, both in economic and personal terms, are considerable. The prevalence of CHF is 1-2% and appears to be increasing, in part because of ageing of the population. Economic analyses of CHF should include both direct and indirect costs of… (More)

AIMS
Studies in the 1980s and early 1990s showed striking increases in hospitalization rates for heart failure. This report describes contemporary trends in hospitalization for heart failure.
METHODS
Scotland (population of 5.1 million) has a well described system for recording details of all hospitalizations. All hospital discharges (and deaths) can be… (More)